THE GOSSIP MACHINE

I love celebrities. I love gossip. So it's fitting that I love Hollywood. I devour the free weeklies that we get at our apartment. A big THANKS! to whoever fogot to change their address when they moved back to Boston last semester. I am addicted to Perez Hilton, a daily must read. Since coming to LA, I have discovered even more gossip sites, granted I spend hours scouring the internet at work looking for mention of clients. But, it's still gossip.

Since moving to LA, my friends and I discovered a few secrets about celebrities in real life. I am here to tell you all of the things that I've learned and unfortunately, to inform you that celebritities really are not all hat different from us mere mortals. Well, except for the fact that they are all ridiculously beautiful and thing. These thigns are true, I'm sorry to inform you. So let's delve into these myths, so I can shatter all of your hopes and dreams.

1) Male actors all seen huge on the TV/movie screen. But honestly, I've learnedthat they're not. Yes, they're all buff and muscular, and most definitely still drool worthy, but they're kinda small. For example, I met Sean Faris, Now if any of you have seen Never Back Downm you'd think this guy was huge- he plays a fighter for heavens sake. Or most recently, he guested on the hotfest that is the Vampire Diaries. When I met this guy, I was shocked at how small he actually is. The guy was short, but stacked.

2) Actors have NOT discovered the fountain of youth. Everyone in this industry seems so young in magazine spreads and fil- wrinkle-free with a twinkle in their eye. Well, whoever invented Photoshop deserves a major bonus because no one is that flawless in real life. Yesterday, I was doing some work at a French cage on Melrose when Annette Bening walks in and sits down to lunch with a friend. At first, I wasn't sure it was her. This woman seemed so old and wrinkly compared to the glowing woman you seeon Warren Beatty's arm on the red carpet. So, what do I do? Naturally, I Google image her and compare the woman in front of me to the woman on the screen. Same nose. same eyes, same haircut, and I swear I recognize the voice. It's her. Now granted this woman is a bit older, but she always looks so flawless on screen. Disclaimer: I am not passing judgment on these people. I find it quite relieving that these folks are not so flawless in real life. I relish the fact that they are somewhat normal.

Now on the opposite end of the age spectrum, on Saturday some friends and I went to a Vampire Diaries signing/question and answer session. I am not ashamed to admit that every Thursday, we TiVo the show and rush back from class to aprtake in a little vampire glory. Anyhow, Ian Somerhalder, who plays the bad boy vamp Damon, is a 30 yr old man. He doesn't look like it on screen with those deeple pensive baby blues and high cheekbones- but in real life, the man looks it. Now granted, he had spent a horrid day traveling on every type of tansportation possible- plane, helicopter, car- I'm telling myself that played a major role. On the other hand, Paul Wesley, who plays sexy, good boy vamp Stefan, wsa even more striking in person. Call me anytime, Paul.

3) Sometimes the screen doesn't portray the hotness of some folks. Last night, we were lucky enough to see Dane Cook at the Laugh Factory. Now, Dane Cook has always been trememdously funny and somewhat attractive. He's from Boston after all. Seeing him on stage, so close, I realized that the man has got something in person that isn't portrayed on TV.

Another example, the other morning I was making my usual Starbucks trip. I decided to try a different location. So I end up at Starbucks on the corner of Beverly and Robertson- right across the street from Chanel, I should have known it was gonna be a good morning. I'm minding my own business waiting for my venti nonfat latte when I notice a rather stunning young man coming into the store. I don't wanna be caught staring, that'd be an awkward situation. So I mind my own business. I leave the store. mindlessly gabbing to my dadwhen I realize that this man (who happen to be wearing a purple Kings hat. Hockey and purple, two perfect things in life) is Michael Vartan, from my absolute favorite TV show of all time, ALIAS. I nearly choke on my latte, wait till I get outside and then freakout. I'm about to cross the street whenI realize I forgot to put Splenda in my coffee. So like an idiot, I turn around, go back in, grab some Splenda, debating whether or not to accost Mr. Vartan. Moral of the story, this 42 yr old man (I had to look that up, I thought he was thirty-something) looks better than ever before. Before I knew who it was, I thought he was a twenty-something.

4) Apparently the nicest actors in this business are, in reality, big bitches. Now I haven't met this specific celebrity, though I desperately want to. She is one of my all time favorite actresses and I legit worship her life. Sounds creepy, but it's completely true. I've heard from multiple sources, that her good girl act is all a lie and my faith in humanity may be ruined because of it. Unfortunately, her name is Jennifer Garner. GASP. I find it so hard to believe that she is such a rude person. She seems so nice, friendly, honest, and utterly amazing in all of the interviews I've seen or read of her. But as more and more people tell me that those who have met her say the exact opposite, I am forced to believe there may be some truth here. I desperately cling to the hope that everyone is wrong...please, world BE WRONG.

Now these are the little lesson that I've learned so far. Some of them may seem rather obvious, but to me they are somewhat mind-blowing. Working in Hollywood has taught me to believe most of what I read in the gossip columns. I mean most of these things aren't coming from nowhere- half of the time, it's a publicist pitching to some columnist or blogger. Perez Hilton should be read as fact, the National Enquirer not so much. But you get the gist. Now, one thing that I desperately want Perez to be wrong about is Leo DiCaprio's possible engagement to Bar Raffeli. Now its not like I'm naive enough to cling to some far fetched hope that one day, I will be the future Mrs. DiCaprio (though I do still cling to the hope to one day be the Queen of England, married to the gorgeous Prince William); but if he is, alas, engaged, all of my childhood dreams will come crashing down around me. I have harborerd a deep love for this suave man since 1997. I am going to break my no scary movie rule to see his latest collabo with Scorsese this weekend. EVERYONE GO SEE SHUTTER ISLAND.

On that not, I am going to wnd with a little product placement. Because it's what Hollywood does.

Sorry For The Delay Folks

This is the story of a girl who started a blog, posted two off the hook entries and then disappeared off the face of the planet, never to be heard from again. I am not that girl. Because I’m back… prepare yourselves because I will be posting like a machine from now on.

Lets be honest, I feel like life has come and smacked me straight up on the head. Ever heard of the saying “running around like a chicken with its head cut off?” Well, imagine this chicken in the form of me and you get a pretty good picture of what I have been doing for the past month. Since I last posted, I have started classes and begun working my two internships. You would expect me, as a PR major, to have two PR internships. But naturally because I have the tendency to make everything twisted and difficult, I have an internship at SYNDICATE PR and The Gersh Agency. One of which is a talent agency.

Syndicate is an amazing boutique PR agency with 4 full time publicists in the LA office and another group in the NY office. Syndicates clients are mainly venues such as Nobu, The Roosevelt Hotel, Mondrian, East, Teddys, Skybar, Premiere, SOHO House, and the list goes on. At Gersh I am interning for the head of the Feature Lit department, an agent named Sarah Self. Sarah represents authors whose books get made into TV/movies and a lot screenwriters, a few directors, and some talent. Biggest client is Diablo Cody and her newest client is a comedian named Bo Burnham-he’s huge in the college world.

Well, now that I’ve bored you all with where I am working, onto the fun stuff. Time has been flying by. I can’t believe I’ve been here for almost a month. Everyday goes by so quickly and weekends, I blink and they’re over. Here’s a snapshot of my day: wake up at 7 and am at work by 9. The morning flutters away and next thing you know its 1pm. Hollywood lunch time-it really is just like in the movies. I love to walk around Beverly Hills during lunch and imagine all of the deals that are getting made in this measly one hour over $30 salads. Favorite lunch moment: Walking down Beverly Blvd and spotting Alexander Skarsgard and not having a freak-out moment. I’m quite proud of myself. Back at the office at 2 and stare at my computer until 6. By which point, I’m usually a tad bit cranky from sitting all day and could use an amazing massage. I sit in traffic during the “10” minute drive back to my apartment and then proceed to stuff my face until 7. Now its time to go to class, which is

easily within walking distance, but because we’re in LA now we drive the 3 block over to the office building where our lessons take place. Being in LA has made us quite lazy. In Boston, everyone walks everywhere where it’s pouring rain or there is two feet of snow. If you take the elevator for less than 5 floors, you are ridiculed and yelled at. We live on the 4^th floor in PLB and we take the elevator. I ease my conscience by telling myself it is more like 5 when you include the lobby level. Anyways, class is over by 10 and we all rush home to watch whatever we DVR’d that night- usually 24, LOST, or Vampire Diaries- and then proceed to pass out by midnight.

Now it seems like there is plenty of time to blog during all that TV watching, but I find that it’s hard to concentrate on Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder’s amazing 12 pack abs when staring at computer, so I chose not to. Can you blame me?

Now in this lengthy space of time that I’ve been neglecting this blog, I’ve come up with over a dozen topics-really good ones, if I say so myself- and have managed to forget all of them. After the dullness of this entry and the lacking for a month, I promise that in the future all the entries will be très amusant and above par. In fact, I’ll tell you the topic of the next one…crazy nights adventures around LA, all in the name of finding a celebrity. Or in my case, the love of my life, LEONARDO DICAPRIO. Don’t laugh, that name deserves all caps.